Wenger wants to contribute right away for Union

Andrew Wenger, here battling the Union’s Amobi Okugo for the ball in a match last Oct. 19, was traded to the Union from Montreal in exchange for Jack McInerney. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Peter McCabe)

CHESTER — Through five matches, the hang-up for the Philadelphia Union was the hold up.

The quality from their attacking third was not equitable to the stout effort the Union were getting from their midfield. So they made a move to better their 4-3-3 formation. In came Andrew Wenger, a forward who has the ability to hold the ball up top, facilitate and create. Out went Jack McInerney and his nose for goal.

That appears to be the niche that Wenger will carve out, when the Lancaster native makes his Union debut in Saturday’s meeting with visiting Real Salt Lake.

“It’s slowly being figured out as the coaching staff tells me what they expect from me,” Wenger said Wednesday, in his first meeting with reporters, “but it’s to press high and be in one of those attacking roles and just get forward with chances and press the other team and, hopefully, win the ball in the attacking third and have those chances.”

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Fifth place in the Eastern Conference, with only six goals in five matches, can hardly be viewed as a successful opening to the Union’s campaign. That’s why manager John Hackworth felt he had to make a move — even if the result was the awkward aftermath of trading a club original like McInerney to Montreal.

“I’m not going to lie, it is different without (McInerney), but we’re happy to have Andrew,” Hackworth said, “and that’s what we’re trying to focus on right now. … We’re looking forward to what the future brings.”

And Wenger is simply looking forward to continuity. Counting interim bosses, Wenger had five coaches in parts of three seasons with the Montreal Impact, who selected him first overall in the 2012 SuperDraft. He compared the Impact’s atmosphere to “a roller coaster.”

Being a product of Reading United, where he played in 2009 with Aaron Wheeler and in 2010 with Ray Gaddis, gives Wenger familiarity with the Union’s system. Returning to this region offers the same.

More importantly to Wheeler, he said, are scoring and winning.

“The (individual) goal would be to get on the scoresheet as soon as possible,” Wenger said. “Beyond that, it’s the team goal to get three points on the weekend.

“There’s me, and Sebastien (Le Toux), Vincent (Nogueira), Chaco (Cristian Maidana) — they’re all great players. And then there’s Mo (Edu) behind them. If I can help them and bring them the attack and get the ball forward and help win balls for them, you want those guys around the goal. You want them getting marks, and that’s what’s going to improve us and help us be successful.”

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Tuesday, the Union announced they had mutually parted ways with midfielder Keon Daniel.

Only last season was Daniel, who made 20 starts in 24 matches, a key figure in the Union’s plans. A calendar year can change plenty.

“Keon is still a player that probably has a lot more potential than he showed here,” Hackworth said.

Hackworth admitted that trading Daniel was an avenue the Union had explored, “but the situation has to be good for both parties,” he said. “Through our work, we didn’t find that situation present itself.”

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The numbers posted by Zac MacMath, unlike his stoppage-time save Saturday, are not pretty.

MacMath has stopped only 10 of the 16 shots he’s faced, for an unenviable 0.630 save percentage. There’s no denying, however, that the Union would have left Chicago with zero points if not for the goalkeeper’s final-seconds effort. MacMath got his right mitt on a low penalty kick into the left corner by the Fire’s Mike Magee, then scrambled to his feet to throw his midsection at Magee’s follow, assuring the Union of a point in the standings.

The emergence of MacMath has postponed temporarily the debut of Andre Blake. Hackworth and his staff have been relegated to charting training hurdles cleared by Blake, the No. 1 pick in January’s SuperDraft. On the horizon are separate stretches of three matches in eight days, like one that opens Saturday against visiting Real Salt Lake.

“I think we’ll see (Blake) sooner than later just because we want to make sure we’re not pushing Zac so hard,” Hackworth said. “The next stretch of games in the next month, we have this situation where we have three games in eight days twice. That does always open up opportunities.”

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Midfielder Zach Pfeffer received a call-up to the United States’ Under-20 men’s national team for participation in the Dallas Cup, which runs from April 13-20.

Pfeffer will head to U.S. camp Thursday and will be unavailable for the Union’s next three matches.

Zach Steffen, a Downingtown native and a former Union Academy goalkeeper, also received a call-up and will join Pfeffer in Dallas.

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On the injury front, the Union expect starting left back Fabinho (hamstring) to be available.

The outlook on midfielders Danny Cruz (right heel contusion) and Fred (left quad strain) isn’t as optimistic. Hackworth said “both are close” to game-fit condition, though it’d be unrealistic for them to see the pitch against Salt Lake.